The 2016 MLB season is finally here, and to celebrate the start of the new year, we had one of baseball's brightest young stars drop by for a chat.

On this week's edition of The Strike Zone podcast, Astros shortstop and reigning AL Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa calls in to the show to talk about the start of the season. Houston's young superstar, who is Topps' 2016 Bunt Digital Cover athlete, reveals what it was like joining the Astros to help their transformation from doormat to World Series contender, and what expectations he has for the Astros as they begin 2016. Correa also discusses the recent rule change to slides and whether or not he supports the change, and what was going on during the controversial non-call in the eighth inning of Tuesday's Astros-Yankees game involving him and Dellin Betances.

After Correa, Ted and Steve get together by phone to talk about the first few days of the season, as they recap the notable games and debate the top storylines so far, including the ending of Tuesday's Blue Jays-Rays game, the non-call in the Bronx, and the weather issues that caused Opening Day to be spread out over two days.

Want more top-notch baseball talk delivered straight to you every week? Then subscribe to The Strike Zone podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and Soundcloud. Have any questions, comments or thoughts on the show? Reach out to Ted, Steve or producer Jon Tayler on Twitter.

Check back on SI.com next week for another episode of The Strike Zone.

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